Mama Heating Pad in the Brooder (Picture Heavy) - UPDATE

[lpyrbby]

Height increase might help, but I was thinking more about 'floor' space...I count 7-10 birds?
They look fully feathered. Maybe remove heater and leave that outer box as a 'huddle box' to block wind and 'hold' some heat.

Yeah, there's that aspect too. There are 13 of them in there! The box is about 2 feet wide and maybe 16-18 inches deep. I do think my camera phone skews dimensions a little bit. If it helps any, the PVC is 3ft tall and 3 ft wide.

I've got to crawl in there tomorrow and lay down some fresh bedding, so I may adjust things in there a little bit to where the box doesn't open up to the front of the pen either. I don't think that's helping much. We'll see what I figure out come tomorrow.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Success! I went in several hours after dark, using my red-bulb headlamp. I go in every night to count them and make sure everything is closed up, etc., so they are used to that.Anyway she pecked at me a little but nothing painful. I moved her, then moved the eggs in two batches and she stayed settled immediately, started making little happy soft chirps once she realized the eggs were under her again. She was in the batch that was raised in the separate brooder in that same spot last spring, so she may have recognized the idea of "safe space" being there when I brought in the crate and set it up this afternoon.

Thank you all so VERY VERY much. I'm really glad I did this, I feel so much safer with her safer.

Wanted to remind you of my last post. I have a new question related to my broody hen, who is still setting, our very first broody. This coming Friday is 21 days since she settled. I have her in a wire dog crate on the floor of the main coop, it's 38" deep by 25" wide, about 30" high. She's got water and food, a big nest of hay, and a thick layer of pine chips on the bottom that I've been replenishing as I've taken them out with her big poops. Been feeding her special treats every day (her fave is pomegranate seeds), sitting with her and making sure she eats. I candled the eggs about day 13 and she has 10 developing eggs (I removed the 1 clear).

My question is, if we do get any live hatches, how do I manage them? Immediately open the crate door and let her and the chicks come and go at will? Leave the crate door closed, and if so, for how long? Any recommendations?

Also, the eggs are from 2-3 days of laying so there are 2-3 different "day 21". It's been said they may set for another day or two, or not. Was thinking I might rush any she abandons to my incubator. Thoughts?

Thank you for any help. To repeat-- I am asking for help here because I know many of you a bit, and it's just easier for me to understand your advice.

--V

 

[ShrekDawg]

Success! I went in several hours after dark, using my red-bulb headlamp. I go in every night to count them and make sure everything is closed up, etc., so they are used to that.Anyway she pecked at me a little but nothing painful. I moved her, then moved the eggs in two batches and she stayed settled immediately, started making little happy soft chirps once she realized the eggs were under her again. She was in the batch that was raised in the separate brooder in that same spot last spring, so she may have recognized the idea of "safe space" being there when I brought in the crate and set it up this afternoon.

Thank you all so VERY VERY much. I'm really glad I did this, I feel so much safer with her safer.

Wanted to remind you of my last post. I have a new question related to my broody hen, who is still setting, our very first broody. This coming Friday is 21 days since she settled. I have her in a wire dog crate on the floor of the main coop, it's 38" deep by 25" wide, about 30" high.  She's got water and food, a big nest of hay, and a thick layer of pine chips on the bottom that I've been replenishing as I've taken them out with her big poops. Been feeding her special treats every day (her fave is pomegranate seeds), sitting with her and making sure she eats. I candled the eggs about day 13 and she has 10 developing eggs (I removed the 1 clear).  

My question is, if we do get any live hatches, how do I manage them?  Immediately open the crate door and let her and the chicks come and go at will?  Leave the crate door closed, and if so, for how long?  Any recommendations? 

Also, the eggs are from 2-3 days of laying so there are 2-3 different "day 21". It's been said they may set for another day or two, or not. Was thinking I might rush any she abandons to my incubator. Thoughts?

Thank you for any help. To repeat-- I am asking for help here because I know many of you a bit, and it's just easier for me to understand your advice.

--V

Never had a broody myself (well, I had one but I didn't let her hatch anything lol), but seen plenty of advice about it on BYC and there seems to be two main suggestions/schools of thinking. The first is to just let them interact immediately, and the second, and what seems to be more common one and the one I would do, is to leave them in the crate for the first say 2 or 3 days after all hatch and then open it up and let her decide. That way they can bond with mom and mom with them and learn about food and water, heat source, etc. without having to worry about the other chickens bothering them, stealing her chicks, them getting lost, etc. Just seems easier all around.

But of course there may be other advice that I'm missing here that others can add

 

[Shezadandy]

Wanted to remind you of my last post. I have a new question related to my broody hen, who is still setting, our very first broody. This coming Friday is 21 days since she settled. I have her in a wire dog crate on the floor of the main coop, it's 38" deep by 25" wide, about 30" high. She's got water and food, a big nest of hay, and a thick layer of pine chips on the bottom that I've been replenishing as I've taken them out with her big poops. Been feeding her special treats every day (her fave is pomegranate seeds), sitting with her and making sure she eats. I candled the eggs about day 13 and she has 10 developing eggs (I removed the 1 clear).

My question is, if we do get any live hatches, how do I manage them? Immediately open the crate door and let her and the chicks come and go at will? Leave the crate door closed, and if so, for how long? Any recommendations?

Also, the eggs are from 2-3 days of laying so there are 2-3 different "day 21". It's been said they may set for another day or two, or not. Was thinking I might rush any she abandons to my incubator. Thoughts?

Thank you for any help. To repeat-- I am asking for help here because I know many of you a bit, and it's just easier for me to understand your advice.

--V

My .02 cents:

How wide are the bars are on your crate? You may want to consider adding 2ft high 1/2" hardware cloth around the whole outside of the crate. That will also keep any roving rodents out. The main reason for this is to keep the chicks from poking their heads through the wire and getting a nasty peck (or worse) from one of your flock. Also it's amazing what babies can fit through- consider that while they're good at getting OUT they can't always find their way back IN.

Water- make sure to change your crate water to a chick waterer- babies, even with momma hens around, will still find a way to drown. Food should be "flock raiser" or "start and grow" -- not any kind of layer feed.

After Tuesday don't force her to eat or drink anything, even treats. She will go into lockdown mode and she needs to be able to hold any feces--because she's not going to get up until she feels all her babies have hatched. If she needs food after Tuesday, she'll get it. This is why they stop eating altogether before the hatch. Otherwise they eat and can't hold it- and broody poo mixed with hatching eggs is a bad thing.

Personally I would close the door on the crate Wednesday and leave it closed to the flock until she's done hatching. Once she moves off the nest, she's done hatching babies. You can candle the remaining eggs - if there is still movement in any eggs left in the nest, you can put them in the incubator to see if you can hatch them, but don't count 100% on her accepting those chicks. She might, she might not.

The rest depends on your broody, your flock and your setup. I leave mine in a confined space for the first 2-3 days where the flock can see but not touch. Then I close the coop off after the layers have finished for the day- leaving everyone else outside, and let the mama introduce the babies to the coop without interference for an hour or so on days 3/4/5, then I let everyone together supervised. Adding a flock block or some other treat that takes lots of pecking seems to make things go the smoothest- less attention on the chicks.

Please remember to address ALL WATERS - they need to be chick proof. (do a search on chick proofing waterers) Inside the coop, out in their run-- too many stories of "I forgot the dog dish". Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Never had a broody myself (well, I had one but I didn't let her hatch anything lol), but seen plenty of advice about it on BYC and there seems to be two main suggestions/schools of thinking. The first is to just let them interact immediately, and the second, and what seems to be more common one and the one I would do, is to leave them in the crate for the first say 2 or 3 days after all hatch and then open it up and let her decide. That way they can bond with mom and mom with them and learn about food and water, heat source, etc. without having to worry about the other chickens bothering them, stealing her chicks, them getting lost, etc. Just seems easier all around.

But of course there may be other advice that I'm missing here that others can add

Thank you! Yes, leaving them inside for a few days is what feels safest/best to me. I just wasn't sure if the hen will be super restless to get out and about.

 

[Victoria-nola]

My .02 cents:

How wide are the bars are on your crate? You may want to consider adding 2ft high 1/2" hardware cloth around the whole outside of the crate. That will also keep any roving rodents out. The main reason for this is to keep the chicks from poking their heads through the wire and getting a nasty peck (or worse) from one of your flock. Also it's amazing what babies can fit through- consider that while they're good at getting OUT they can't always find their way back IN.

Water- make sure to change your crate water to a chick waterer- babies, even with momma hens around, will still find a way to drown. Food should be "flock raiser" or "start and grow" -- not any kind of layer feed.

After Tuesday don't force her to eat or drink anything, even treats. She will go into lockdown mode and she needs to be able to hold any feces--because she's not going to get up until she feels all her babies have hatched. If she needs food after Tuesday, she'll get it. This is why they stop eating altogether before the hatch. Otherwise they eat and can't hold it- and broody poo mixed with hatching eggs is a bad thing.

Personally I would close the door on the crate Wednesday and leave it closed to the flock until she's done hatching. Once she moves off the nest, she's done hatching babies. You can candle the remaining eggs - if there is still movement in any eggs left in the nest, you can put them in the incubator to see if you can hatch them, but don't count 100% on her accepting those chicks. She might, she might not.

The rest depends on your broody, your flock and your setup. I leave mine in a confined space for the first 2-3 days where the flock can see but not touch. Then I close the coop off after the layers have finished for the day- leaving everyone else outside, and let the mama introduce the babies to the coop without interference for an hour or so on days 3/4/5, then I let everyone together supervised. Adding a flock block or some other treat that takes lots of pecking seems to make things go the smoothest- less attention on the chicks.

Please remember to address ALL WATERS - they need to be chick proof. (do a search on chick proofing waterers) Inside the coop, out in their run-- too many stories of "I forgot the dog dish". Hope that helps and good luck!

Thank you, very helpful. I've got chick starter, and all the waterers in the coop are chick-safe. I didn't know about lockdown and not feeding her, so glad I checked in here. We have the hardware cloth and I can do that. Like your calendar suggestion for isolation and introduction, the flock block idea is great. We don't have a run that will keep the chicks confined-- they free range. I did lose 1 pullet last spring at about 10 weeks old to a stray cat, but other than that no losses to predators in more than a year here. (knock wood) Thank you very much for your detailed post.

We have a flock of guinea fowl (21) that don't interact with the chickens really, they have their own separate coop that they go to for feeding and sleeping, but they do hang around in the same space off and on during the day. We hatched them out last spring after the younger set of chickens, so they've not seen chicks yet (MHP both batches). Does anyone think that the chicks would be endangered by the guineas? The chickens and the guineas seem to have a mutual pact where they don't interact much at all, though a couple of the guineas will come and peck at the chickens' scratch grain instead of their own millet offering each afternoon.

 

[Shezadandy]

Thank you, very helpful. I've got chick starter, and all the waterers in the coop are chick-safe. I didn't know about lockdown and not feeding her, so glad I checked in here. We have the hardware cloth and I can do that. Like your calendar suggestion for isolation and introduction, the flock block idea is great. We don't have a run that will keep the chicks confined-- they free range. I did lose 1 pullet last spring at about 10 weeks old to a stray cat, but other than that no losses to predators in more than a year here. (knock wood) Thank you very much for your detailed post.

We have a flock of guinea fowl (21) that don't interact with the chickens really, they have their own separate coop that they go to for feeding and sleeping, but they do hang around in the same space off and on during the day. We hatched them out last spring after the younger set of chickens, so they've not seen chicks yet (MHP both batches). Does anyone think that the chicks would be endangered by the guineas? The chickens and the guineas seem to have a mutual pact where they don't interact much at all, though a couple of the guineas will come and peck at the chickens' scratch grain instead of their own millet offering each afternoon.

You're welcome! Do leave the food in her crate dish so she can make her own choice on when to stop eating, just suggesting no more tempting treats. She'll do her own lockdown when she's ready. Back on the food topic, not sure what you feed the flock at large- but the chicks really shouldn't have layer (the calcium levels are too high- kidneys). Momma Hen will feed them what she's used to eating. Yes, they'll eat the grower too, but I found the first broody breaking up layer pellets (thought they'd stick to the grower in their dish, lol, they didn't) to feed to her chicks. What most people who mix ages and genders do is put the whole flock on flock raiser or grower and have oyster shells for the layers. Of course do your own research to decide what's best for your situation, I just encourage a comparison between the nutritional content on the grower and what you normally feed, paying extra mind to calcium. As free range birds they'll have a lot more to choose from which is neat!

I don't have any experience with guineas so I can't offer advice there. She might well get up for a short while Wednesday and maybe even Thursday. My broody hens seem to hatch earlier than expected- the last one in October hatched them all on days 19 and 20, all chicks normal and healthy.

It's a lot of fun having a broody with chicks around- I call them the peep squad. Momma will generally keep her chicks out of danger from other birds. It is possible that one or more gang up on her- it's important to watch the interactions at first. The normal "hey kid beat it" is one thing, but if there's someone following them around and messing with the broody and chicks, that's a different problem. Though some broodies rule the coop, others don't.

One of the first thing ours do after the hatch is take a dust bath - like showering after a week of camping! Good luck and enjoy your babies!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Quote:
Ok, I will keep an eye on them. Good to know that early could happen, and will let her choose whether to eat or not without working to tempt her. I know that it's best to go to chick starter for all the birds so that the chicks don't get too much calcium. That is what I plan to do. I will do half/half today and move toward all starter by later in the week. I keep out 3 kinds of calcium (crushed oyster shell, the slivered oyster shell lining type, and crushed eggshells) plus crushed granite in the "mineral bar", but the oldest hens did not adjust well this past spring when I went to all starter for everyone when we hatched out the new batch from incubator-- they weren't used to not having adequate calcium in their food and didn't get themselves enough from the side containers. So I've really been worrying about hatching any more eggs, but now one of the new girls went broody and we want more layers so no way I would stop her. I'm just not sure what to do to ensure the older girls get their calcium.

I am very excited about having a peep squad here. I figure a natural mama is better than MHP, perhaps even less worry, but MHP is the best way for general incubation hatching or bringing in hatchlings. That's how I got to know folks here, was needing to learn MHP.

Thanks again!

 

[aart]

.... but the oldest hens did not adjust well this past spring when I went to all starter for everyone when we hatched out the new batch from incubator-- they weren't used to not having adequate calcium in their food and didn't get themselves enough from the side containers. So I've really been worrying about hatching any more eggs, but now one of the new girls went broody and we want more layers so no way I would stop her. I'm just not sure what to do to ensure the older girls get their calcium.

Couple things I did to get them to partake of the oyster shells was to put a dozen or so pieces of it on top of their feed for a couple days.
...and put a few sunflower seeds on top of the oyster shells...seemed to do the trick as they soon were consuming it regularly.
Should mention that was in a pullet only coop, not sure how well it would work for older hens.

 

[ShrekDawg]

 
[CONTENTEMBED=/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update/8370#post_18038424 layout=inline]Never had a broody myself (well, I had one but I didn't let her hatch anything lol), but seen plenty of advice about it on BYC and there seems to be two main suggestions/schools of thinking. The first is to just let them interact immediately, and the second, and what seems to be more common one and the one I would do, is to leave them in the crate for the first say 2 or 3 days after all hatch and then open it up and let her decide. That way they can bond with mom and mom with them and learn about food and water, heat source, etc. without having to worry about the other chickens bothering them, stealing her chicks, them getting lost, etc. Just seems easier all around.[/CONTENTEMBED]


But of course there may be other advice that I'm missing here that others can add

Thank you!  Yes, leaving them inside for a few days is what feels safest/best to me.  I just wasn't sure if the hen will be super restless to get out and about.

I dont think she wouls be upset about a few more days